Revisiting Japan: My second visit with my SO in 2018 Part 3

Day 10: Fuji Chobo No Yu Yurari

On my previous solo trip to Japan I visited Takayama and really enjoyed my stay at one of the Hot Spring Hotels over there. Unfortunately, our schedule this time was a bit more packed so we didnt have time to go to Takayama, but I had to go to the hot springs at least once so we found a nice nearby hot spring near Mt Fuji; Fuji Chobo No Yu Yurari. My partner was not too keen to be seperated with me and neither did the idea of being completely nude infront of strangers appeal to her either. Fortunately, this place had a few private rooms which also included a nice view of Mt Fuji in the background. We left our hotel early in the morning and arrived just as the hot springs open. The place already had a queue, but and I was worried that the private rooms would have been booked out, fortunately, it seems that the majority of the people queuing up were locals and they seemed to prefer sharing the communal hot spring so there was not a lot of demand for the private rooms. Each of the rooms had a different mineral/crystal that was added to the hot spring to provide different effects. We chose the one with coal infused into the tub.

I think we probably spent tops one hour inside, which was more than enough and we spent the following hours roaming around the facility, enjoying the recliner chairs waiting for a complimentary bus to take us back to the train station near Mt Kawaguchiko where we took the train to Tokyo.

After checking into our hotel and grabbing some dinner, we head to plan for our itinerary the following day. Our friend comes into the story once again and recommends visiting Disney Sea. I didn’t have high hopes for it after briefly visiting Universal Studios in Osaka on my previous trip since quite a few rides were closed that time and the remaining rides had ridiculously long lines, but we ended up being persuaded by my friend anyway. I presumed that the ticket lines to buy tickets into Disney Sea would be long, and after a bit of searching online we realised that we could buy the tickets beforehand at one of the few Disney Stores around Tokyo so we headed out in the night to the Disney Store inside Skytree, since I was a bit more familiar with this location. Ironically, after wondering around inside Skytree for a bit, we managed to make it to the Disney Store before they closed but turns out that they did not sell Disney Theme Park tickets and they told us that the branch in Shibuya did. Fortunately, the Disney Store in Shibuya closed a bit later so we were able to get our tickets there before they closed up albeit a bit of a detour.

Day 11: Disney Sea

In order to get the most out of our day, we made our way to Disney Sea before it even opened. We got some bread at the train station, made our way to Maihama station and caught a disney themed monorail to Disney Sea. Even though we got there early, the place was already over crowded with people trying to get entry tickets (we were so glad we got the tickets the night before).

First thing we did was head to Toy Story Mania near the entrance which I read good reviews about online. Unfortunately it seemed like everyone else read the reviews so we were stuck waiting in line for a good 3 hours before we got in. It was cold so my missus was not happy. The 5 minute ride shooting virtual targets while wearing 3D lenses was very children friendly (which probably explains why the line was so long). I did enjoy the ride but we were quite hungry afterwards, after finish all the bread we got earlier so we grabbed lunch before heading to our next ride.

The food at all the cafeterias had a very similar menu of burgers, chips and a drink and they were surprisingly good for theme park food. After lunch we reserved tickets for the Haunted Mansion looking Tower of Terror ride (which we just thought was a haunted mansion). The reservation was late past midnight so we walked off to the next attraction. the rides at the Port Discovery section seemed very kiddy so we started to line up for the Indiana Jones Temple of the Crystal Skull ride. This was another hour or so wait but the indoor roller coaster was exciting enough with sudden jolts and turns and boulders hurling at you, but not too crazy with upside down 360 loops, so it was one of the more enjoyable rides.

Next up was the more exciting Raging Spirits ride. This outdoor roller coaster involved 360 degree loops and being flung around. Did I mention it was outdoors?! I have never been a fan of roller coaster rides so I really didn’t want to do it but my missus insisted so I ended up on the ride anyway. I did end up with my eyes closed for most of the trip anyway.

The sun was already setting after the Raging Spirits ride and we had enough excitement so we did some of the more tamer rides at the Arabian Coast area. The Flying Carpet ride, Aladdin Merry Go, Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage( indoor boat ride watching the story of Sinbad unfolding) and the 3D Magic Lamp Theater (showing an alternate story to Aladdin and Genie) were all very relaxing, enjoyable and children friendly. It felt like we were visiting Agrabah in real life! We also managed to catch fireworks which was very Disney magical!

The 20000 Leagues Under the Sea ride at the center of the theme park was a little disappointing, it seemed a lot more thrilling but it ended up being a slow ride shooting undersea creatures. We really wanted to do the Journey to the Center of the Earth ride but the theme park was already closing so we did not have enough time for it.

The last ride we did was the Tower of Terror ride which was more thrilling since it was already past 8 at night so it added to the spookiness. I had still thought that it was a haunted mansion walk with ghosts jumping out at you but after being taken into the lobby of the hotel with a short background story intro into the ride, walking through the room to the other side and finally being strapped into seats in the elevator, did I finally realise that it was one of those sudden drop rides. BUT it wasn’t just one drop! We were dropped several times and accelerated up right to the top where I opened my eyes for a brief moment to catch a view of Disney Sea before being dropped again. This was definitely the most scary ride I have ever been on!

Day 12: Miraikan

We didn’t really have much else planned for Japan but we still had 2 days til we returned home. We missed the Science Museum at Nagoya this time so we went to Miraikan instead. I didn’t expect much but really enjoyed me stay there. We got to see the Honda Asimo robot in action and there were a lot of interactive activities including talking to a robotic surrogate and a virus simulation. We also rode this Honda segue which was quite fun and not as hard as the segues that you stand on. I don’t recall much else of this day

Day 15: Wondering around Ueno…

We didn’t do much this day either but I do remember having fun going through the street stands around Ueno when I first went to Japan, and I really enjoyed this kebab at Moses’ Kebab. Their kebabs are quite different to the ones we have in Australia. They are wrapped in a pocket instead and the sauce was also different. We wondered back around to Sky Tree for the evening to do a bit of shopping and Akihabara to search for some souvenirs for my missus’ brothers.

Day 16: My Last Day

We had our flight to catch sometime around the afternoon so we didn’t really have much time to do anything else. Since we were living so closed to Ueno, our last destination was at Ueno Zoo. I don’t know if its because I have been to too many zoos now or I was a bit tired from the trip but it wasn’t as exciting. There was a long queue to see the pandas but we only had about a minute to take a selfie with the panda behind a window. We did have our last serve of Takoyaki before taking a train to Narita Airport.

I was a little shocked at how far Narita Airport was compared to Haneda Airport so I was glad we left early to make our way there. There was also a bunch of delayed flights and the airport in general seemed a lot older compared to Haneda Airport so I think next time I go to Japan I am going to try to go back to Haneda Airport.

Revisiting Japan: My second visit with my SO in 2018 Part 2

Day 6: Itsukushima

I always knew that I would be revisiting Itsukushima if I had the chance to visit Japan again. The small island just off of Hiroshima with its world heritage famous red Torii gate in the middle of the sea is a sight to behold. Aside from that, there are also plentiful of deers roaming around. We managed to catch one trying to enter a shop for some food.

Aside from the beautiful scenery, there were also plentiful food stalls selling hot street food and sweet pastries which complimented the chilli Winter air nicely. Our particular favourite was a shop that sold these maple leaf shaped pastries filled with red bean paste. The mild sweetness of the pastry is accentuated by the complementary green tea which creates a harmonic blend of sweet and bitterness.

After wondering around the shops near the wharf, we headed further into the island to take a gondola towards the top of Mt Misen which gave an impressive view of the island. Unfortunately, I forgot the pricing for the gondolas so we had enough money to take the gondola up to what I believed was the peak of Mt Misen. Turns out there was a further hike which lead to a place where couples could make sweet pastries together. Reluctant to head back to the wharf, as that would have taken another 20 minutes hike back, we decided to take the Gondola up and hike our way back down to the wharf. The view at the end of the Gondola was still spectacular.

We got back to Hiroshima around 6PM and wondered off around one of the trainstations to try out Okonomiyaki from one of the many Okonomiyaki restaurants. I had initially thought that with the amount of lettuce they put on the okonomiyaki that it would be a very filling portion but that was not the case. Nonetheless, for the price and taste it was well worth the $14AUD.

Day 7: Rabbit Island

Okunoshima or Rabbit Island was one of the new places that I visited on this trip. Afterall, what makes a better date than going to an island filled with fluffy bunnies! We were excited from the previous night and headed out early to catch a ferry. We made an unfortunate detour to the wrong wharf but eventually found our way to Tadanoumi to catch a ferry. We were able to get all our supplies from the “Gateway to Rabbit Island” shop which sold the ferry tickets, souvenirs and some rabbit food.

After a quick ferry ride, we were immediately surrounded by bunnies! They were literally everywhere! They were not shy either and came up to you at the faintest sign of food. We followed the road along the coast, through a park and beach and eventually ended up at the hotel, the only hospitality on the island. After a quick lunch of curry and rice, we still had plenty of rabbit food from the 2 packets we got at the wharf so we gave them to a kid before heading back to Hiroshima.

Day 8: Arashiyama

One of the quick searches of places to go in japan was the Arashiyama Monkey Park around Kyoto which is nearby to the beautiful bamboo forests that hosts various shrines inside. We found ourselves wondering through the tourist filled streets… enjoying the steaming buns from a food stand, some matcha soft servce ice cream… I revisited the Monkey Park for a second time, once again ascending the mountains with my missus. It, like other places have not changed much since my first visit and like the other animal parks, we were allowed to buy bags of food to feed them. This time, since we arrived earlier, we were able to watch the monkeys being fed.

After the Monkey Park, we visited the Bamboo forest which admittedly was not a good time around lunch time as it was filled with other tourists. We also visited a shrine which i believe was praying for fertility.

We wondered back to the busy streets afterwards and found ourselves in a cat and owl cafe. It was an interesting experience, the cat cafe was a small room with tree branches and logs hanging and a faux grass floor. We were given a complimentary drink from the vending machine and sat on the floor, waiting for the cats to come up to us, since we weren’t allowed to grab them. I was expecting more of a regular cafe with kittens jumping around but I guess this wasn’t bad either. The owl cafe wasn’t really a cafe but more of a display of various owls perched on their stands chained up and looking pissed off. They did not seem pleased to see us…

One other attraction of Kyoto is the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine known for the rows of red Torii gates that led the way to the top of the shrine. Despite reaching the shrine, late in the evening, it was still packed full of tourists trying to get a good photo. We tried to get a decent photo ourselves but did not manage to so we decided to revisit the following morning before heading to Mt Fuji…

Day 9: Fushimi Inari and Mt Fuji

Before heading on a shinkansen to Mt Fuji, we hoped to arrive back at Fushimi Inari shrine early enough to get some photos without other people, but despite our best efforts there were still quite a few others around. Nonetheless, we managed to take a few photos before setting off.

I recall last time taking a tra in to Lake Kawaguchiko but this time I caught a coach from a nearby train station. We got off near the train station actually, which is ironic and hotel was not too far from it. I did the same trip to the lake and we took the gondola at Mt Fuji Panoramic Ropeway which presented a nice view of Mt Fuji.

The motel we stayed in was a bit small but we got a traditional room with tatami flooring and a hot tub which was a bit awkward since it wasn’t private. I think we spent the night eating instant noodles.

Revisiting Japan: My second visit with my SO in 2018 Part 1

It has been two years since visiting Japan back in 2016 solo. During this time, I have graduated from uni, met my first girlfriend(now wife!), managed to find my first full time salaried job as an engineer in a factory, and changed jobs and industries to IT altogether(but thats not what this is about). Now I am in lockdown due to COVID and recapturing my happy days in Japan.

As 2018 was coming to an end and my missus and I managed to survive our first short road trip together, I thought what better way is there to know and learn more about each other than to go on a full on journey overseas to a foreign place! My missus has never been to Japan but having endeavoured there once, I decided to volunteer as tour guide. I thought it was best to revisit the places I have been to on my previous trip and add in some new places, however, instead of flying to Tokyo then taking a bullet train to Osaka on my first day, I decided to fly straight to Osaka instead… The idea was to save on time and money but this did not work out too well…

Day 1 and 2: In Transit

My journey began 2 days before Christmas. Being frugal with our money, we decided to do a layover in Hong Kong airport over night then arrive the next morning in Osaka,instead of flying direct as this was the cheaper option by $200AUD. Having done the same thing in Singapore airport the first time around, I thought it was a good idea but in retrospect, it was not such a good idea after all. After arriving at the airport late at night, still excited for our journey to begin, we roamed around the airport, checking out some of the shops and food court and got ourselves some local egg tarts for dinner. For those into Pokemon Go, Hong Kong airport was also a good place to catch some pokemon only found locally. After an hour or two of roaming, the airport began to quiet down, the shops were closing and there were a lot less people. I managed to catch a few hours sleep on the benches but my partner did not prefer sleeping out in the open…

With the lack of sleep, we arrived in Osaka around lunch the next day half awake and after collecting our luggage, we spent the rest of the day sleeping in our hotel to recover. This time around, I had the phone sim card sent to me while I was still in Australia so I was able to have mobile internet immediately upon arrival. Had I spent the extra money for a direct flight, we could have saved the time and money! As now I was travelling with my SO, we decided to stay in hotels instead of capsule hotels which I did the first time around. The cost of hotels averaged $70 to $80 AUD per night per room which was a decent price. The rooms were small but sufficient and we enjoyed the privacy. Some of the hotels even provided us with a phone to use out and about for navigation and making international calls back to home. One of the things I have always enjoyed about hotels in Japan is that they provide all the toiletries needed, so we saved space in our luggages for carrying them and had more room to bring souvenirs back!

Typical hotel room for 2.

Day 3: Osaka Castle and Nara Deer Park

Osaka Castle

After a good hearty bowl of ramen for breakfast, I began my tour by revisiting Osaka Castle. The hues of teal and gold highlight against the white walls of the castle amongst the morning sky revived my memories of the place just as I have visited back in 2016. After visiting the floors of historical monuments and dioramas which have not seemed to change much since since my first visit, we started to feel peckish and was glad to find a takoyaki stand outside the castle. We also visited the shopping arcade with plentiful souvenirs and a small eatery at the end which served skewered food and soft served ice cream. I recall a table in the middle of the dine-in with a variety of condiments to compliment the savoury skewers.

Feeding deers at Nara

We left for Nara Deer Park which is another must visit place in Osaka and arrive there close to sunset. As I expected, there was an abundance of tourists feeding rounds of deer food (found from the small stands of street food around the park for a 100 or 200 yen). After purchasing some deer food, we were immediately surrounded by a herd of deer and my partner got nibbled on as the deer attempts to get a snack! The deer here are not afraid of humans!

Todaiji

As our rations of deer biscuit ran out, so did the deers’ interest in us so we headed for the near by Todaiji Temple. As my second time around, we passed through the large gates, through the main walkway and into the dimly lit main building. It is still astounding to see massive statues of buddhas and I still have no idea what the red cloacked statue at the front of the temple represented. We were amused as we saw little children (not sure if locals or tourists) crawling through a hole in one of the interior pillars as a circle of adults applauded them for making it through the hole. We presumed that making it through the hole granted the children with better health/wisdom.

We ended our day at a restaurant around the local train station in Nara. It was the first time trying raw chicken and horse meat and I was curious to try. The plate of thinly sliced meat had a texture similar to sashimi but was not particularly memorable. I am grateful that we did not get food poisoning the next day.

Day 4: Kobe Beef.

Kobe Beef Lunch Set

We started our day with a delicious Teriyaki burger from Maccas. We were amazed that all the Christmas decorations that was up the previous night had already been removed in the morning. Japan is truly the most efficient place I know! As we were so close to Kobe and upon a friend’s recommendation we decided to try Kobe Beef from local restaurant in Kobe after he swears by the value and taste! In the end we did not manage to reserve a spot of the recommended restaurant as they were already full for lunch reservations. Feeling hungry and determined for some Kobe Beef, we ended up at another reputable restaurant, Ishida which was nearby. We were sat around a bar table with a hot plate as a personal chef approached us to serve their lunch menu. It was my first time at a hibachi styled restaurant so it was a very new experience. The beef indeed melted away in my mouth leaving an aromatic savoury flavour in my mouth. I can also attest the the bowl of plain fried rice was also probably the best rice I have ever had however, my parter and I will probably not try Kobe beef for a very long time. For the 5 or 6 chunks of steak, rice, salad, chawan mushi, ice cream and condiments, I recalled paying up around $120 AUD per person, excluding the glass of coke which was another $20 AUD from memory. As delicious as it was, this is the most expensive meal I have ever had without feeling full! Maybe, we just don’t understand fine dining…

Osaka Aquarium

Another recommendation my friend made was to visit Osaka Aquarium which I did not visit on my first trip. Having slight doubts to his opinions, we ended up at the aquarium later at night. Initially we were worried that we had arrived a bit late but we decided it was the right decision in the end as the experience was astonishing!

The plaza at the front was filled with light shows and statues of aquatic organisms making for a beautiful scenery. The first critter we met at the entrance of the aquarium were some otters but they were asleep. This was probably the first time I have been to an aquarium since my childhood years so I was more astounded by the structural integrity of the several storey tall fish tank than with the large ecosystem of stingrays and whales and fish and sharks living in harmony. Nonetheless, tranquility overcame me as I walked through the dark silent corridors with numerous displays of fascinating sea life, some alien and some adorable. The blue tinge of light faintly lighting up the walk ways enhanced the surreal experience of being under the sea. My favourite display was probably the small tanks of jellyfish which glowed white amongst a black background, almost as if walking into an old black and white movie.

As we approached the end of the aquarium, seeing the seals and penguins, feeling our way through the stingrays and sharks, we exited back onto the plaza and made our way to the giant ferris wheel next door. The top of the ferris wheel provided a vibrant view of the city lit up in white and yellow providing a romantic ambience.

We probably spent 2 or 3 hours inside the aquarium enjoying the fascinating displays so I would definitely visit this place next time. Another highlight of Osaka Aquarium was the smurf blue coloured soft serve ice cream they had at the canteen which is probably the most unique ice cream I’ve had to date. The Ramune flavoured ice cream was an interesting combination of lemon flavoured soft drink and ice cream that has I have never experienced before. The ferris wheel was also a peaceful and fun experience! Unfortunately Legoland was already closed by the time we reached the area but we would love to visit the place again once COVID is over!

Our next stop for the night was Dotonbori where the famous Glica Man stands illuminating the streets or shops along with various other glowing signs. We strolled the streets amongst the crowds of tourists and ended up back at the hotel past midnight.

Day 5: Hiroshima

We started out early and arrived at Fukuyama for lunch as we were on our way down to Hiroshima. We ate at a western looking restaurant inside the train station which featured dishes of crepes and desserts on display. Another joyous meal usual. There was a nice little castle around Fukuyama station which was fairly empty except for 3 or 4 other tourists. There wasn’t much more to see compared to Osaka Castle, except maybe the scenery.

By 5 we have reached Hiroshima and I once again walk by the remains of the Trade Centre and into the Atomic Bomb Museum. The videos and dioramas of the atomic bomb falling onto Hiroshima and wiping out everything saddened me. I am once again astounded by how beautiful the city is now after watching the shocking effects of the atomic bomb that once destroyed the place. The Canal that flows down the city is very calming. My partner got the giggles that day which was a little embarrassing at the sombre atmosphere surrounding the Museum and Memorial.

Updates on my life

I just realised that I have not updated this blog in almost three years! Now that I have nothing better to do since I am stuck at home all day with the whole Corona virus episode, I thought it might be a good idea to update this blog.

Since graduating University in 2016, I went for almost a year before getting an “official” job with a paid salary, changed to another job and industry (more on this later), met and married the love of my life! and did a whole heap of travelling with my missus.

I have gained a lot and learnt much more and would like to share this in my future posts!

Macbook Pro 2017 Thoughts

As a long time Apple user and Apple fanboy, this review may be very biased…

Ever since completing uni back in 2016 I have thought that it was time to upgrade my 13 inch 2014 retina macbook to the 15 inch model mostly because I thought the 13 inch screen was starting to be a bit too restricting and switching between a low resolution external monitor display and   the retina display was very bothering. I was a bit disappointed when the new macbook design was released in 2016 mainly due to the unnecessarily large trackpad and the various issues that plagued it since its release. I was seriously considering the Dell XPS 15 but was concerned about the battery life with the 4k display but also didn’t feel like going back to a 1080p monitor since using retina displays for so long. Furthermore, I wasn’t a big fan on the dual modality of Windows since Windows 8. So after careful consideration I recently bought the 2017 15inch base model Macbook Pro for almost $1000 off rrp!

So I have used the Macbook Pro for about two weeks now and here are some of my thoughts in comparison to the last generation model in no particular order…

• The chassis is very slim but I do feel it has a bit of compromise with build quality especially when I grip the macbook from the hinge when moving it so I also had to get a plastic case to increase its rigidity and protect the finish.
• The keyboard is rather shallow but it took me about a day to get used to it and I can type as fast as I did on my old macbook so it doesn’t bother me.
• I quite frankly can not tell the difference between the old retina monitor and the new one but they are equally nice to view.
• The trackpad is ridiculously large but still a pleasure to use and has not affected my typing at all, although I do type with my right wrist lifted and my left palm does occasionally bump onto the trackpad but it does not move the mouse about.
• I do find the the touchbar useful particularly the screen shot button and being able to scroll through video even when they are in picture in picture mode, but the touch id is not so useful because so far I can only use it to unlock from sleep but can not use it to buy apps from the mac store nor gain super user privileges in terminal.
• Only having usb-c ports hasn’t been quite an issue as a matter of fact its been pretty nice because I can potentially use around 8 or more usb ports through various dongles.
• There has been an issue with some dongles interrupting wifi when plugged in. This is a known issue which I have unfortunately encountered but thankfully its not a big issue as it seems to only be caused by third party dongles when connected to the left side ports as they are closer to the wifi card and have bad shielding. After a bit of research, it is known that this only affects the macbook when connected to a 2.4ghz network so switching over to a 5ghz network stops the problem. Using a dongle which has a cord in it and wrapping it in aluminium foil or connecting the dongles to the right side solves the problems I had completely.

Adding Audio Airplay to OSMC

After setting up OSMC on my raspberry pi, it has always bothered me that the airplay functionalities were rather flaky, it would work with my macbook but not with my iOS devices. Fortunately, a bit of scouring the web led me to here which would add airplay features to OSMC. The setup instructions are rather straight forward so I won’t bother repeating it.

Connecting Microsoft Kinect To Mac

For the second part of my thesis, after messing around with various background subtraction algorithms in in openCV, I thought about what else I could do to add some value to this open ended research. I managed to get my hands on a Microsoft Kinect Camera which incorporated a normal camera and an infra-red camera.

The first issue I had, the Microsoft Kinect Camera I got wasn’t the developer version and it had a proprietary connector which doesn’t connect straight to a usb port. Good thing in this modern age is finding cheap adapters off ebay, but cheap sometimes also means waiting a while before I got the adapter and sometimes they don’t work… Fortunately, it wasn’t a complete waste as I needed part of the cable and following this guide I managed to make my own complete adapter.

The second issue was that I was trying to use the Kinect camera in MacOS with Python so it wasn’t natively supported as it would under Windows, but fortunately, the Libfreenect library provided drivers and wrappers to use make the Kinect work. Simply downloading the directory and navigating to the python folder in the wrappers folder and installing the files with

python setup.py install

To ensure that it is installed,

pip list

If libfreenect is listed then it is installed.

Turning Monitor On And Off In OSMC

SSH into osmc then…

To turn on:

vcgencmd display_power 1

To turn off:

vcgencmd display_power 0

Navigating Terminal on MacOS

Here are a list of useful commands to navigate through your filesystem using Terminal

The Beauty Of Homebrew

For those coming from linux and used to the comfort of apt, or those frequenting the app stores on Android and iOS devices, Homebrew would provide you the luxury of having a centralised place to download and install various softwares,even those not found on the Mac App Store on MacOS devices. Here is a list of hand commands used in the terminal.